Misal Pav
Misal pav is a popular breakfast dish from Maharashtra, India. It can in fact be crowned the Mumbai’s tastiest veg snack and even though I have tasted it recently, it has become one of my favourite foods. Misal is a spicy curry made with mixed sprouts such as matki, chavali, chick peas and served with pav. The final dish is topped with a chick pea snack called "farsan”, onions, lemon and coriander leaves. While there are different versions of Misal Pav such as Kolhapuri Misal, Nashik Misal, Puneri Misal, Khandeshi Misal and Nagpuri Misal; the first part indicating the origin on the misal it is said that misal has originated in Kolhapur, where it is said to be the spiciest.
I first tasted misal at one of my relatives’ home in Mumbai. She had especially made it for me as she had the idea that I might have never tasted it before. True to her thinking, I never had, but fell in love with this dish the very first time of tasting. I tried making misal by referring many websites, but one recipe totally impressed my family. Since then I have never changed my recipe, and now misal has become a regular visitor to our home . This recipe is the recreation from Tarla dalal’s site and tastes just heavenly!
Misal is usually served spicy but somehow my taste buds don’t agree with very spicy food so I make it less spicy along with a sweet and tangy flavour. Misal gets it’s unique taste from the species cinnamon, cloves and staranese. Usually these species should be ground to a paste with the rest of the items. But since it’s a bit tough to grind these with the other ingredients, I usually dry roast and make a readymade spice mix. This spice mix can be used for other day to day curries too.
For the spice mix
8 sticks of cinnamon (1 inch each) 10 cloves 4 staranise Dry roast the spices for 2 minutes on medium heat. Allow to cool to room temperature. Crush the spices to a fine powder using a mortar and pestle. You could even use a mixer to make this spice mix, but be sure that the spices are finely powdered.
What you'll need:
For misal paste :
1 tsp spice mix 1 medium onion, cut into thin long slices 2 tbsp desiccated coconut 2 red chillies 2 garlic cloves 1 tsp each of coriander & cumin seeds
To pressure cook: 1 cup mixed sprouts (matki, moong, chavli, kala chana) ½ cup cubed potatoes
2 cups of water
For misal curry :
1 medium onion finely diced
2 bay leaves 1 tbsp cooking oil 1 medium tomato 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp turmeric powder, chilli powder Salt to taste
How to :
Pressure cook the sprouts and potatoes with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt upto 2 whistles.
In a non-stick pan, add a tsp of oil and toss the garlic, bay leaves and onions. Sauté until they turn golden brown. Add the red chillies, cumin, coriander seeds, 1 tsp spicemix , desiccated coconut and roast for another minute until the coconut turns golden. Turn off the heat and allow to rest. Once the mixture cools, blend it into a smooth paste with enough water. If you add too much water, the mixture won’t blend properly and you won’t get a fine paste.
In a non-stick pan, add 1 tbsp oil and sauté the onions. Once it turns golden add tomatoes, turmeric powder (chilli powder if needed) and a pinch of salt. Stir in the ground paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add the cooked spouts along with the liquid and let the mixture come to a boil. Turn off the heat and allow it to rest for at least ½ an hour. While serving, make sure to sprinkle farsan, onions, coriander leaves and lime juice over misal and enjoy with pav.
